Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to hand-held electronic touch screen devices such as smart phones, electronic book readers, and tablet personal computers, and more particularly to a system for mounting such devices under a cabinet, counter, table, or shelf, and integrating such devices with various control and automation systems, and augmenting these devices with various external manual hard buttons and/or actuators and/or indicators.
Background Art
Typically, for charging and hard-wired network connectivity, touch screen devices, such as table computers, are either placed in a wall-mounted docking station or a table-top stand/docking station.
A significant drawback of table-top stands is that they occupy valuable table or counter space, which could otherwise be used for something else. Additionally, table-top stands require various wired connections (e.g., power, data) that extend from the table-top stand, across the table, and to the appropriate end connection point (e.g., outlet, network port).
Although wall-mounted docking stations for touch screen devices do not take up valuable table or counter space, they require wall space, which may not be available depending on the particular room. Further, the various wired connections (e.g., power, data) need to be routed through walls.